THE 14 passengers of the Philtranco bus, which arrived in Agora Terminal, Cagayan de Oro City on Sunday, March 22, did not show any symptoms of coronavirus disease (Covid-19), City Health Office (CHO) Public Health Technical Division head Dr. Claire Azura-Pagunawan said.
Pagunawan said the bus, which carried 13 Filipinos and a 67-year-old Turkish national, arrived aroundmidnight.
The 14 passengers departed from Pasay, Manila on March 16.
The bus was in transit to Pagadian, Iligan and some parts of western Misamis Oriental, she added.
"Ang tanan nga 14 passengers walay simtomas kay gipa-check nila Dr. Nery (CHO Officer-in-Charge Dr. Lorraine Nery), nag contact thermometer para ma-asses ang passengers," Pagunawan said.
Pagunawan said the 13 Filipino passengers have no history of travel abroad and the Turkish national arrived in the Philippines on March 12.
Pagunawan said all of the passengers were then transferred to van and transported to their desired destinations.
"Walay mga passengers nga diri sa Cagayan mohunong. So gipangitaan to sya og pamaagi ni Colonel Dampal (Cagayan de Oro City Police Office chief Colonel Henry Dampal) nga ma-transport sila sa van pagawas sa Cagayan de Oro kung asa ang ilang destination," Pagunawan said.
Mayor Oscar Moreno, for his part, said he instructed the personnel in checkpoints to only ask for people entering the city for their intent rather than where they came from.
"Ang akong instruction sa atong checkpoints, we do not ask kung taga-asa sya. Ang [question] lang is unsay iyang tuyo," Moreno said.
He added that what is important, at present, is to prevent the increase of Covid-19 cases in the city.
"Mao na nga importante kaayo i-contain nato ang atong cases dinhi. How? Dili makatakod sa virus, that's the only way," Moreno said.
"Hopefully, dili na mosaka," he added.